NCAB leads the way on voter registration

NCAB steering committee member Rodney Dawkins, from Heartland Health Outreach (HHO) in Chicago, held weekly sessions during August, September, and October to assist people experiencing homelessness with registering to vote. Dawkins’s experience showed that individuals were reluctant to register for a number of reasons, all of which he helped resolve.

Some individuals were concerned that their ex-offender status precluded them from having the right to vote in the state of Illinois. Others thought that because they had moved from the South side to the North side of the city that they couldn’t register in their new location. Finally, several did not know how to read or did not understand the voter registration application. Many people were cautious about registering to vote, but because Dawkins was at the voter registration table every Tuesday for three months, they warmed up to the idea and eventually registered with his assistance.

HHO estimates that nearly 100 people registered to vote through this CAB initiative.

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This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U30CS09746, a National Training and Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement for $1,625,741, with 0% match from nongovernmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.